But the acid test will come at the 2004 Australian Open, when as a seeded player and a recent winner of a Masters title, Henman will be counted, if not as a favourite, a definite contender.

BBC: SPORT | Tennis | Henman promises so much more

Murray, who said he was satisfied with his performance in the tournament despite going out to a player seeded two places below him, said Nadal is the favorite to win.

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And this year, he upset 22nd seeded Florian Mayer and top 100 player Flavio Cipolla to reach the third round.

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Former world number one Jelena Jankovic, seeded seven, is now the highest-ranked player still in the tournament, although she also struggled before beating Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-3 4-6 6-2.

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Timo Boll, the fifth-seeded German who is the world's top non-Chinese player, has profited from this.

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You know, despite the fact that she might not be seeded high or didn't play for a little bit, she's still a very experienced player and a tremendous athlete.

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Fourth seed Li, the highest-ranked player left in the competition, will face Magdalena Rybarikova in the final, after the 13th-seeded Slovakian beat Indian Sania Mirza 3-6 6-0 6-3.

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Murray said his match against Youzhny, 25, who is seeded third and is ranked 19th in the world, would be "a different match against a different type of player".

BBC: Murray fights back to reach semis